Happy New Year everyone!

We greatly appreciate all of your continued support and your dedication in helping us provide education and awareness of the long history of the cocktail, as well as the craftsmanship and pride in making quality cocktails and enjoying them responsibly.

There is a very special event happening TOMORROW (Thursday, January 22nd) that I am unfortunately being a bit tardy in letting you know about.

"The Essential Cocktail" by Dale DeGroff

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 (7 to 9pm)
Florida Room at the DELANO 1685 Collins Ave., Miami Beach

Join Us for a Special Evening With Dale DeGroff to celebrate his new book: "The Essential Cocktail". Complimentary Pernod Ricard cocktails from "The Essential Cocktail" will be offered.

PLEASE RSVP: jd2design@aol.com
All guests must be at least 21 to attend.

We are also continuing our schedule of monthly seminars at the museum in New Orleans, our upcoming seminars are:

The Four Seasons of Rum
Monday February 2 2009 (6:30pm)
Presented by: Wayne Curtis

Drink Like You Eat: Culinary inspired seasonal mixology
Monday March 2 2009 (6:30pm)
Presented by: Adam Seger

Who's Your Daddy? A Mai Tai paternity test
Monday April 6 2009 (6:30pm)
Presented by: Jeff Berry

We hope that many of you will get a chance to attend one of these great seminars.

There is also a very special seminar being held by the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program in Washington DC on February 10th. There, our own Chris McMillian and Phil Greene will present an educational seminar on the history of New Orleans Cocktails:

History in a Glass: Famous New Orleans Cocktails
Tuesday, February 10th (6:45pm - 8:45pm)
General Admission: $45.00
Presnted by: Chris McMillian and Phil Greene
National Museum of Natural History
Atrium Cafe'
10th & Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington DC

Recently, Phil Greene and Derek Brown hosted a special seminar at the Rock Creek restaurant in Mazza Gallerie in Washington DC. The seminar was "All Cocktails is Local - Presidential and Political Libations in American History". You can read about this seminar in the Washington Post online here.

For information on future events and seminars, be sure to check our website:
http://www.MuseumOfTheAmericanCocktail.org

Our good friends at Sante are preparing for another great restaurant symposium on April 26-29th in Bolton Landing, NY. This will be their fourth-annual symposium at the exclusive Adirondack resort "The Sagamore". There will be 35 knowledge-packed seminars with 40 top professional speakers, and a total of 72 hours of education, networking, and exciting events. They will once again be holding their popular "Iron Bartender" competition, as well as "The Best Chef Cook-Off" which will be new this year. For more information, and registration information, you can check them out on the web.

On December 8th Tony Abou-Ganim, the renowned Modern Mixologist, came to the Museum of the American Cocktail to present  traditional holiday cocktails. His entertaining demonstration included the famous Tom & Jerry cocktail, an early 19th century drink made famous by Jerry Thomas.

This drink has special meaning for Tony. Each year at holiday time, his cousin Helen David served hundreds of them at her bar, the Brass Rail  in Port Huron, Michigan. Tony has Helen to thank for his introduction to the business and passing to him  the tradition of classic cocktails and professional barmanship.

“For nearly 70 years, Helen made Tom and Jerry's from scratch for her customers in at the Brass Rail. Every year on Thanksgiving she would unpack her three commercial mixers and keeps them spinning until New Years Day!" says Tony.

Tony's presentations are full of excellent information for professionals and home bartenders alike, providing tips about ice, ingredients, and proper handling of garnish, His energy and passion for his profession  is evident from the energy and enthusiasm he brings to his presentations. If you cannot see him in person, I highly recommend you purchase his Modern Mixology dvd:

Don't miss the other upcoming Mixology Mondays at the Museum. Our next seminar will be with Wayne Curtis on February 2nd.

Attendees were also treated to a beautiful Yuletide Punch and a rich pisco cocktail called the Biblia.

YuletidePunch

• 3 bottles Brut Sparkling Wine (Moet White Star)
• 1 liter Finlandia Grapefruit Vodka
• 12 ounces Marie Brizard Crème de Cassis de Bordeaux
• 2 bottles (46 oz) white grape juice
• 12 ounces fresh lemon juice
• 12 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
• 6 ounces simple syrup *
• Fresh frozen red raspberries
• Fresh frozen blackberries
• Sliced oranges
• Sliced lemons
• Fruit ice molds **

Pre-mix Finlandia Grapefruit Vodka, white grape juice, fresh lemon & orange juices, simple syrup, crème de cassis, oranges, and lemons in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (at least 3 hours, preferably over night). Transfer to a Punch or serving bowl, add frozen berries, ice molds and chilled sparkling wine just prior to serving. Serve in wine goblets with fruit. Makes 24 servings.

Helen's Tom & Jerry Batter

• 8 jumbo eggs
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• Hot water

Separate egg whites and yolks. In a large mixer, beat yolks until thin, transfer to another bowl. Clean mixer and add the egg whites and cream of tarter, beat until stiff. Add powdered sugar and fold in yolks. Mix until batter is thick, but light.

For each drink:

• 3/4 ounce Rum
• 3/4 ounce Cognac

In a pre-heated mug, add 1 heaping ladle of batter. Add rum and cognac. Top with hot water and dust with freshly grated nutmeg. Serve with a paddle or spoon. (Hint: At home I use a Kitchen-Aid 4.5 Quart Capacity Tilt-Head Mixer for making the batter.)

Biblia

• 1/2 oz Barsol Pisco
• 1/2 oz Sandeman port
• 1/2 oz Martell cognac
• 1/2 oz Cacao cream
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 Tbs Sugar
• powdered cinnamon

Beat the eggs with a whisk the sugar until well combined, then whisk in the pisco, port, and cognac. Serve with a sprinkling of cinnamon as garnish.